Jessica Andrade to Face Tatiana Suarez in Co-Main Event of UFC Nashville

 Jessica Andrade is readying for one of the UFC’s biggest non-title fights at strawweight.

The 31-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a former UFC women’s strawweight champion, will face the undefeated Tatiana Suarez in the co-main event of UFC Nashville on August 5, the promotion announced Tuesday.

Jessica Andrade

Suarez was initially scheduled to face Virna Jandiroba, but Jandiroba suffered a torn ligament in her knee that could keep her out quite a while, according to Jandiroba’s manager Tiago Okamura.

In the UFC’s contender rankings, Andrade is ranked No. 5 and Suarez is No. 10 at 115 pounds.

Andrade (24-11) will try to snap a two-fight losing streak.

The Brazilian-born fighter is coming off a knockout loss to Yan Xiaonan at UFC 288 last month. Andrade beat Rose Namajunas to win the UFC women’s strawweight title in 2019. She has the second-most wins in women’s UFC history (15).

Suarez (9-0) returned from nearly four years out due to injuries in February with a second-round submission win over Montana De La Rosa in the flyweight division. The California native won “The Ultimate Fighter” at strawweight back in 2016 but has fought just five times since because of injury issues.

Suarez, 32, nearly made the 2012 U.S. wrestling Olympics team but had to withdraw because of a neck injury and thyroid cancer.

UFC Nashville will be headlined by a bantamweight contest between striker Cory Sandhagen and rising prospect Umar Nurmagomedov, the cousin of former pound-for-pound king Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Jessica Andrade Filling In for Taila Santos in This Week’s UFC Fight Night

Jessica Andrade is stepping up to the Octagon

The 31- year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former UFC women’s strawweight champion will fill in for Taila Santos in the UFC Fight Night main event on February 18 in Las Vegas.

Jessica AndradeAndrade will face top prospect Erin Blanchfield in a women’s flyweight contender bout.

Santos’ cornermen, including her husband, Pedro Barbosa, were denied visas multiple times, according to Santos’ manager Tiago Okamura. The team waited until a final denial Friday, Okamura said, and Santos decided to withdraw from the bout rather than compete without a corner.

ESPN has Andrade ranked No. 2 in the world at women’s flyweight. Blanchfield is unranked but could get a title shot with a win over Andrade.

Andrade (24-9) has won three straight. The Brazilian-born fighter who trains out of Las Vegas is coming off a dominant, unanimous-decision win over Lauren Murphy at UFC 283 last month. Andrade was the UFC women’s strawweight champion in 2019.

Blanchfield (10-1) has won seven straight, including her first four in the UFC. The New Jersey native is coming off a first-round submission win over Molly McCann at UFC 281 last November. Blanchfield, 23, was ranked No. 2 on ESPN‘s top 25 fighters under 25 years old for 2022.

Amanda Lemos Pulls Off Upset Win Over Marina Rodriguez at UFC Fight Night

Amanda Lemos has pulled off an upset…

The 35-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist finished Marina Rodriguez via TKO at 54 seconds of the third round on Saturday in the main event of UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas.

Rodriguez was poised for a title shot if she won, but now Lemos has snatched her spot near the top of the rankings.

The finish came after a big counter overhand right by Lemos. The punch landed to Rodriguez’s forehead, as Rodriguez was coming in for a combination of her own. It stopped Rodriguez in her tracks and left her rocked. Lemos pressed forward with another big right hand and then flurried with right and left hooks until referee Jason Herzog stepped in to stop it.

“Her legs started wobbling a little bit,” Lemos said in her postfight interview. “I didn’t think twice. I’m going to finish the fight right there.”

ESPN had Rodriguez ranked No. 4 in the women’s strawweight division coming in, with Lemos at No. 9. The big stoppage victory should push Lemos closer to title contention.

She proposed the idea of being the backup fighter for the women’s strawweight title fight next week at UFC 281 between champion Carla Esparza and former champ Zhang Weili in New York.

Lemos (13-2-1) has won two straight and seven of her past eight fights. The Brazilian-born slugger has finished five of her seven UFC victories. That ties her with Rose Namajunas and Jessica Andrade for the most finishes in UFC strawweight history.

Lemos was coming off a second-round submission win over Michelle Waterson-Gomez in July. Her only loss at 115 pounds came against Andrade in April.

Rodriguez (16-2-2) had a four-fight winning streak snapped. The Brazilian-born fighter had only lost once before in her MMA career, to Esparza in July 2020.

Rodriguez, 35, was coming off signature wins against contenders Yan Xiaonan and Mackenzie Dern.

Jessica Andrade to Fight Lauren Murphy at UFC 283

Jessica Andrade is preparing a highly anticipated bout…

The 31-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a former UFC women’s strawweight champion, and Lauren Murphy – two of the top women’s flyweight fighters in the world – will meet in Brazil.

Jessica AndradeAndrade and Murphy has agreed to fight at UFC 283 on January 21 in Rio de Janeiro.

Andrade is ranked No. 9 on ESPN‘s pound-for-pound women’s MMA list. At flyweight, Andrade is ranked No. 3 and Murphy is No. 4.

Andrade (23-9) has won two straight and three of four with the only loss in that stretch coming to flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko.

The Brazilian-born fighter held the UFC women’s strawweight title in 2019. Andrade is the only woman in UFC history to win fights in three different weight classes.

Murphy (16-5) is coming off a unanimous decision win over former women’s bantamweight champion Miesha Tate in July. The Alaska-born fighter, who lives in Texas, has won six of her past seven fights with the only loss during that stretch coming in a title fight against Shevchenko. Murphy, 39, is 7-3 since starting her UFC run with two straight losses.

Marina Rodriguez to Fight Amanda Lemos at UFC 280

Marina Rodriguez has lined up her next opponent…

The 35-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist will face Amanda Lemos at UFC 280 on October 22 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Marina RodriguezRodriguez and Lemos, two of the top women’s strawweight fighters in the world, form part of one of the UFC‘s deepest cards of the year.

The winner of the bout could have the inside track on a title shot. Rodriguez is the No. 4 women’s strawweight in ESPN‘s rankings, while Lemos is No. 9.

In addition, sources told ESPN that Rodriguez and former UFC women’s strawweight champion Jessica Andrade have left manager Tiago Okamura to sign with Ali Abdelaziz of Dominance MMA, who represents the likes of welterweight champion Kamaru Usman and former pound-for-pound king Khabib Nurmagomedov.

Rodriguez (16-1-2 overall, 6-1-2 UFC) has won four straight and is coming off a split decision win over Yan Xiaonan at UFC 272 in March. The Brazilian fighter’s only career loss was a close split decision defeat to current UFC women’s strawweight champion Carla Esparza in 2020.

Lemos (12-2-1), also 35, has won six of her past seven fights, including a second-round submission victory over Michelle Waterson this past weekend at UFC Long Island. The Brazilian fighter’s only loss since 2017 came to Andrade in April. Lemos has finished four of her six wins inside the UFC Octagon.

UFC 280 will be headlined by a fight between former champion Charles Oliveira and Islam Makhachev for the vacant lightweight title. Also on the card, lightweight standouts Beneil Dariush and Mateusz Gamrot will meet in a potential title eliminator.

Tecia Torres to Fight Mackenzie Dern at UFC 273 in April

Tecia Torres is headed to the Octagon in April…

UFC has added a strawweight bout between the 32-year-old part-Puerto Rican mixed martial artist and Mackenzie Dern to the lineup for UFC 273 on April 9.

Tecia Torres,Torres announced the bout via social media, and UFC officials confirmed the 115-pound matchup to ESPN. The promotion has not announced a venue or main event for the pay-per-view.

According to UFC‘s official rankings, Dern and Torres ranked fifth and seventh in the strawweight division, respectively.

Torres, who fights out of Colorado, has won three in a row since 2020. The 10-year veteran has turned things around after a four-fight skid from 2018 to 2020. Three of those four losses came against women who have won a UFC championship: Jessica AndradeJoanna Jedrzejczyk and Zhang Weili.

Fighting out of California, Dern (11-2) suffered a setback in her last bout against surging Marina Rodriguez in October. Before that loss, the submission specialist had won four in a row.

Jessica Andrade to Fight Defending UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko 

Jessica Andrade is taking on a champion…

The 29-year-old Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and former strawweight champion is set to take on defending UFC flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko at UFC 261, according to Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White.

Jessica Andrade

The 125-pound title fight will take place at the April 24 pay-per-view event, for which the UFC hasn’t yet finalized a location. It will mark Shevchenko’s fifth attempted title defense.

Shevchenko (20-3) has dominated the weight class since she dropped to 125 pounds from 135 pounds in 2018. She won the vacant belt by defeating another former strawweight champion in Joanna Jedrzejczyk in late 2018, then has looked more or less unbeatable in defenses against Jessica EyeLiz CarmoucheKatlyn Chookagian and Jennifer Maia.

Andrade (21-8) is widely perceived as the greatest threat to Shevchenko’s reign.

She won the UFC’s 115-pound championship by knocking out Rose Namajunas in May 2019 before surrendering the belt to current champ Zhang Weili three months later. She moved up to the 125-pound division in October, and scored a first-round knockout over Chookagian.

ESPN ranks Shevchenko and Andrade the No. 2 and No. 6 female pound-for-pound fighters in the world, respectively.

Cynthia Calvillo ThisClose to UFC Flyweight Fight Against Katlyn Chookagian

Cynthia Calvillo could be returning to the Octagon in the near future…

The UFC is close to finalizing a flyweight fight between the 33-year-old Latina mixed martial artist and Katlyn Chookagian for UFC 255 later this month, according to ESPN sources.

Cynthia Calvillo

Contracts haven’t been signed yet, but the bout will take place on November 21 in Las Vegas once it’s official.

It’s good timing for the 125-pound contender fight, as the UFC 255 pay-per-view event features flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko defending her title against Jennifer Maia in the co-main event.

Calvillo (9-1-1) catapulted herself into flyweight title contention with a five-round decision over former title challenger Jessica Eye in June. That was Calvillo’s flyweight debut in the UFC. She accumulated a 5-1-1 record as a strawweight prior to the move up in weight in June.

Calvillo was scheduled to face Lauren Murphy last month, but was forced to withdraw due to a positive COVID-19 test.

Chookagian (14-4) is coming off a knockout loss to former strawweight champion Jessica Andrade on October 17 in Abu Dhabi. Despite the loss, Chookagian is still the No. 2-ranked flyweight in the world per the UFC rankings, behind No. 1-ranked Andrade.

The 31-year-old Chookagian fought Shevchenko for the title in February, and came up short via third-round TKO. The fight against Calvillo will mark her fourth appearance in 2020.

Jessica Andrade to Fight Rose Namajunas in High-Profile UFC Rematch

Jessica Andrade is readying for a rematch…

The UFC is thisclose to a deal for a high-profile rematch between the 28-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist and fellow  former strawweight champion Rose Namajunas, according to ESPN.

Jessica Andrade

Contracts haven’t been signed yet, but both sides have reportedly agreed to meet on July 11 at a location to be determined. 

The location could be the mysterious “Fight Island,” which UFC president Dana White has claimed will be operational by late June.

Namajunas (8-4) was the champion when she first fought Andrade (20-7) in Brazil in May 2019. Namajunas appeared to be winning the bout until Andrade picked her up and slammed her midway through the second round for a knockout victory.

Andrade went on to surrender the title to current champion Zhang Weili in her first attempted defense three months later.

The UFC originally booked this rematch for UFC 249 on April 18 in Brooklyn, but that event was ultimately postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The promotion tried to keep it intact for May 2, but Namajunas was forced to withdraw due to personal reasons.

The winner of the 115-pound contest would have a strong case for another title shot against Zhang, who recently told ESPN she’d like to face Namajunas in her next bout.